Guide to the Leon S. Adler Papers, 1943-1993

Collection comprises letters, military service and medical records, two photograph albums, and printed items maintained by Leon S. Adler, along with a scrapbook maintained stateside by Roslyn "Posy" Adler between 1943 and 1945 to record Leon's naval service, from his training and teaching at Ft. Schuyler, N.Y., to his service as part of the fleet which occupied Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, following the war. Includes two printed items, a copy of the book U.S.S. Biloxi published around 1945, and a CRAM'S WAR ATLAS, dating between 1941-1945, along with a U.S. Service flag from World War II.

Collection comprises letters, military service and medical records, two photograph albums, and printed items maintained by Leon S. Adler, along with a scrapbook maintained stateside by Roslyn "Posy" Adler between 1943 and 1945 to record Leon's naval service, from his training and teaching at Ft. Schuyler, N.Y., to his service as part of the fleet which occupied Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, following the war. Includes two printed items, a copy of the book U.S.S. Biloxi published around 1945, and a CRAM'S WAR ATLAS, dating between 1941-1945, along with a U.S. Service flag from World War II.

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One photograph album is entitled "Nagasaki: City of the Dead" in a calligraphic hand, and focuses on Adler's tour of the city one month after the United States dropped the atomic bomb, 1945 September 18-24. On 20 pages, there are 61 black-and-white 3x5-inch photographs of his tour, documenting the destruction, buildings still standing, medical treatment areas, returned prisoners of war ("ramps"), and conditions for residents remaining. Includes an hand-written introduction, and all photographs are fully captioned in ink. The album also contains a map of Nagasaki and a undated certificate of recognition signed by President George H. W. Bush following Adler's death in 1990 (mentioned in the records file, likely added much later).

Box 1

U.S.S. Biloxi, L.S Adler photograph album, 1945

(1 item)

A second photograph album has a leather cover stamped with the U.S.S. Biloxi banner and Adler's name. This album (133 pages, 351 black-and-white photographs and snapshots, sizes from 2.5x4-inches to 8x10-inches) comprehensively documents life aboard the ship, during leisure and training periods, along with their assignments in Okinawa, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. Some photographs duplicate those in the Nagasaki photograph album. Most photographs are accompanied by typed captions.

Box 2

Letters, 1945 September 5-24

There are three loose letters Adler composed to his parents between 5 and 24 Sept. 1945. Topics include the end of his tour of duty and the ship's assignments in Nagasaki.

Box 3Folder 1

Leon S. Adler's military service record, 1944-1993

(55 items)

Adler's military service record; some items may have been pulled into the Posy Adler scrapbook.

Leon S. Adler's Veteran's Administration medical file. Adler developed cancers at the end of his life that were potentially related to his exposure at the atomic bombing sites in Japan in 1945.

Box 3Folder 3

Posy Adler scrapbook, 1943-1945

(3 boxes)

The scrapbook maintained by Posy Adler (1943-1945) contains naval service forms, letters, informational documents, certificates, and newsletters and publications, along with a few family letters and letters from business connections regarding Leon's commission, greeting cards and postcards, mementos and newspaper clippings, and twenty two black-and-white photographs. However, the primary focus of the scrapbook was to hold Leon's telegrams and over 183 letters he wrote to Posy during his service. Leon wrote weekly, sometimes daily, and the letters provide a complete description of his service, including training, leisure activities, excursions, homesickness, and other experiences. They often also touch on Adler Company business matters, and his pride in his wife's operation of the store during his absence. Once Leon joined the crew of the Biloxi, his letters focused on life aboard ship, his duties, description of ports, family matters, then the end of the war, the dropping of the atomic bombs, and his preparations to leave the navy.

Box 5Box 6Box 7

Navy graduation photograph, undated, probably 1944

(1 item)

Black-and-white photograph (13 x 10.75-inches) of the Fort Schuyler, N.Y., 29th Indoctrination Class. Men are in dress uniform. Photograph is signed by the men pictured.

Leon S. Adler was the son of Marcus Mordechai Valentine Adler and Jeanette B Sternberger and was born in Lebanon, Ind., in 1912. He married Roslyn Woolf, known to the family as "Posy," in 1937; the couple had two children. He was a successful manager of retail clothing stores. Adler became a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves during World War II, eventually serving as a Communications and Public Information officer from Feb. 1945-Dec. 1945 aboard the U.S.S. Biloxi. He was among the first U.S. occupation forces that arrived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the dropping of the atomic bombs, and his photographic and written documentation was uncensored.